Santo Domingo

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Santo Domingo de Guzmán
Coordinates: 18 ° 29 ′  N , 69 ° 54 ′  W
Map: Dominican Republic
marker
Santo Domingo de Guzmán​
Santo Domingo on the Dominican Republic map
Basic data
Country Dominican Republic
District Distrito Nacional
City foundation August 5, 1496
Residents 2,987,013  (2006)
- in the metropolitan area 3,172,000
City insignia
Escudo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán.svg
Detailed data
surface 104.44 km²
Population density 28,600 inhabitants / km 2
height 14  m
Waters Río Ozama , Caribbean
Post Code 10100 - 10699
(Distrito Nacional)
10700 - 11999
(Santo Domingo)
Time zone UTC −4
Website adn.gob.do
Santo Domingo Cathedral
Santo Domingo Cathedral

Santo Domingo de Guzmán is the capital of the Dominican Republic and with 2,987,013 inhabitants in the city proper (as of 2006) and 3,172,000 in the agglomeration (as of 2018) also the largest metropolis of the country and the largest city of West Indies in Caribbean . Santo Domingo is the oldest European-built city in the New World .

geography

Geographical location

The city is located on the south coast of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola at the mouth of the Río Ozama and has the most important port in the republic ( La Haina ).

climate

The average temperature during the day is 30.25 ° C and 21.08 ° C at night. The annual precipitation 1385 millimeters and the average temperature of the water is 26.75 ° C. Humidity in summer: 90%

Santo Domingo
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
63
 
29
20th
 
 
57
 
29
20th
 
 
54
 
30th
20th
 
 
72
 
30th
21st
 
 
188
 
30th
22nd
 
 
140
 
31
23
 
 
145
 
31
23
 
 
177
 
32
23
 
 
181
 
31
23
 
 
187
 
31
22nd
 
 
100
 
31
21st
 
 
84
 
30th
20th
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source: Oficina Nacional de Meteorología (ONAMET) ; wetterkontor.de
Average monthly temperatures and rainfall for Santo Domingo
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 29.2 29.2 29.6 30.2 30.4 30.8 31.3 31.5 31.4 31.1 30.6 29.6 O 30.4
Min. Temperature (° C) 19.6 19.7 20.2 21.1 22.2 22.9 22.8 22.7 22.7 22.3 21.4 20.3 O 21.5
Precipitation ( mm ) 63.0 56.8 53.8 71.9 187.7 140.1 144.6 177.4 180.9 186.8 99.8 84.3 Σ 1,447.1
Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 7.4 8.2 8.3 8.4 7.9 7.8 7.4 7.7 7.4 6.7 7.3 6.6 O 7.6
Rainy days ( d ) 7.6 6.3 6.3 7.0 11.3 10.3 11.4 12.0 11.8 13.0 9.4 9.0 Σ 115.4
Water temperature (° C) 27 26th 26th 27 27 27 28 28 28 28 27 27 O 27.2
Humidity ( % ) 83 81 79 79 83 84 84 85 85 86 84 83 O 83
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
29.2
19.6
29.2
19.7
29.6
20.2
30.2
21.1
30.4
22.2
30.8
22.9
31.3
22.8
31.5
22.7
31.4
22.7
31.1
22.3
30.6
21.4
29.6
20.3
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		63.0
56.8
53.8
71.9
187.7
140.1
144.6
177.4
180.9
186.8
99.8
84.3
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

history

Santo Domingo has been settled by Europeans since 1496, but was not officially founded by Christopher Columbus ' brother Bartolomeo until 1498 at the mouth of the Ozama River, making it the oldest city in the New World built by Europeans . It was first called La Nueva Isabela .

In 1502 it was re-established on the west bank of the Ozama River by the then governor of the island, Nicolás de Ovando , due to a hurricane and an ant plague and received its current name. For the first time, the newly founded city had the layout of an ideal city , as demanded by the urban planners of the Renaissance . The cityscape with its right-angled streets and a centrally located square ( Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor ) were to be formative for all of the following start-ups throughout Latin America . In the Spanish colonial empire, Santo Domingo was the seat of the governor and the Real Audiencia .

The Cathedral of Santo Domingo is the oldest cathedral in America (foundation stone laid in 1521, consecrated in 1540). 1546 she was by Pope Paul III. elevated to the status of the first archbishop's cathedral in the New World. Until 1992 it hid the bones of Columbus, which were transferred to the new Faro a Colón on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America . The cathedral is considered unfinished as the originally planned bell towers were not erected.

The oldest university in America was opened here in 1538. During the Trujillo dictatorship, Santo Domingo was called Ciudad Trujillo from 1936 to 1961 .

traffic

Las Américas International Airport is located near Santo Domingo. Since January 30th, 2009 the city has a subway, the Metro Santo Domingo . The network currently (2017) has two lines and 30 stations. In 2015 a city ​​cable car , the Teleférico de Santo Domingo, was opened with 4 stations:

Culture

In 1990, UNESCO declared the historic old town ( Ciudad Colonial in Spanish ) on the western bank of the Río Ozama a World Heritage Site .

In 2003 the 14th Pan American Games were played in Santo Domingo .

Attractions

Alcazar de Colón

At the Plaza de España with a view over the Río Ozama is the palace of the then viceroy , built under Diego Columbus from 1510 to 1514 . This was the seat of the Spanish colonial government in the New World for six decades. After the death of María de Toledo , wife of Diego Columbus, the palace was no longer inhabited and fell into disrepair. It was not restored until the 1950s and now houses the Viceroy Museum.

City map from 1873
Calle el Conde with the Palacio Consistorial

Monasterio de San Francisco

Ruins of the first monastery on the American continent

Museo de las Casas Reales

Former governor's palace, built as the administrative seat of the Spanish colonial rulers on the American continent, is now occasionally used for receptions and weddings.

Fortaleza Ozama

Oldest fortress in America. This 16th century castle was built above the port of Santo Domingo at the mouth of the Ozama River to defend the port entrance from enemies from the sea.

Faro a Colon

Cross-like monumental building made of concrete, approx. 250 m long from east to west and approx. 65 m in north-south direction, inaugurated in 1992 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the year America was discovered, one of the most visited monuments in the Dominican Republic. Impressive, especially at night, when vertical columns of light from 157 spotlights project the large cross visibly into the sky for miles. The building is intended to house the remains of Christopher Columbus, but Seville in Spain also claims this honor.

Faro a Colon

education

With four universities and a technology institute, the city is an important educational center:

sons and daughters of the town

Trivia

"Santo Domingo" was a very successful hit song by Wanda Jackson in the 1960s and was covered by several artists.

Town twinning

photos

  • Santo Domingo Cathedral, side entrance

  • Santo Domingo Botanical Garden

  • "Columbus Lighthouse" (front view)

  • Columbus monument in front of the cathedral of Santo Domingo.

  • Alcázar de Colón as seen from the Plaza de la Hispanidad (2005)

  • Calle Las Damas (Ladies Street)

  • The Calle El Conde shopping street just before Christmas

  • The sugar cane grown in the area around Santo Domingo is mainly processed in the La Romana sugar cane factory

  • The obelisk on the Malecón in Christmas decorations

literature

  • Thorsten Sagawe: The old town of Santo Domingo . Geographische Rundschau 9/1992, pp. 536-542.

Web links

Commons : Santo Domingo  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Santo Domingo  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Footnotes

  1. ↑ United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA): The World's Cities in 2018 , p. 24.
  2. ↑ Teleférico de Santo Domingo, para defender y dignificar la vida de la gente